Tasara was signed over to SAFE because her owner was facing a terminal illness and had entered hospice. She came to us healthy an sound, having been well cared for her entire life. Tasara is sweet and friendly, and really loves people. She greets everyone with a nicker. She’s a petite and pretty little horse, and she is gaited. Tasara was started under saddle at SAFE and ridden on a regular basis. She was adopted in May 2018 by a woman who lost her horse after wonderful 10 years together. Tasara has helped heal the heartbreak of that loss, and she and her new owner are happily enjoying new adventures together.

We’re thrilled to announce that Tasara’s adoption is final! She is now living in Battle Ground WA with her new friend, Sherri. The story of how Tasara and Sherri came together is simply magical.

Tasara became a SAFE horse in June 2017. We were contacted by a woman who told us that her sister was dying in hospice, and that she was leaving a beloved horse behind. Knowing that Tasara was safe and cared for would bring her tremendous peace, and fortunately we were able to offer that to her. Tasara was a well cared for horse with a sweet and friendly personality, whose life was sad and lonely, now that her owner and friend was gone. Moving to a busy place like SAFE was a big change for her, but she settled in very well and faced her new life with dignity and bravery. This bright mare was quite easy to start under saddle, once she adjusted to the use of flags in horsemanship training, and soon she was going well under saddle. Being a gaited horse, she gave Terry and other volunteer riders a whole new experience under saddle, and it was fun to watch her glide around the arena in her running walk!

At about the same time that Tasara’s owner was passing, Sherri was bidding a heart wrenching goodbye to her equine soulmate, a Peruvian Paso mare she’d been with for 10 years named HMS Ariana. Ariana had developed DSLD, and Sherri could no longer keep her comfortable. Without a horse of her own, Sherri says she felt completely lost. But her heart was broken, and she wasn’t ready to move on. And then a friend told her about a little rescued mare named Tasara who was looking for a home and a person of her own. Sherri visited the SAFE website to look at her, and felt something in her heart loosen up a bit. She submitted an adoption application, and drove up from Battle Ground to meet Tasara. She would end up making the trip four times in total, coming up to ride Tasara and spend time with her. She wanted to be sure she was making the right decision, that she was ready to give her heart to another horse. But Tasara didn’t have to do very much besides be herself to win Sherri over. She was what Sherri needed to move on from her sadness and start a new life with a new horse. Sherri says, “I have never met a horse so sweet and that loves humans so much. My barn is no longer empty, my heart is full. And I look forward to many adventures with my girl.” She is very grateful to everyone at SAFE, but especially to Terry for taking the time to let her get to know Tasara at her own pace. We wish them a happy life together!!

Tasara and her adopter Sherri, getting ready for a trip to Trout Lake for some trail riding!

For updates on many of your favorite adopted SAFE horses, visit our SAFE Alumni Facebook group! It’s where SAFE adopters can post updates, photos, and videos of their SAFE horses, to share their progress with the SAFE community!

SAFE volunteer Marie Jainga took part in her first Joel Conner clinic last weekend, working with Tasara in the groundwork sessions. Here are her observations about her experience:

First, I want to begin by thanking Bonnie and Terry for hosting these wonderful clinics with Joel Conner. The insights he shares is truly amazing. I have learned so much from these sessions, both watching last fall and now currently participating. Thankfully these clinics exist, since I was not born with natural horsemanship skills. With these clinics I will continue to grow in skill and knowledge. What has become apparent to me isn’t about the steps of 1,2 and 3… you read in a book or on the internet, it is more about understanding and learning the bigger part of horsemanship…the HOW and WHY. As I begin my journey to acquire more horsemanship skills, I realize that there are many components into building trust with a horse. The horse I was able to work with at this past, weekends Joel Conner clinic was Tasara our sweet little Paso Fino. In working with Tasara, I continued to work on skills that Terry had worked with me on back in October and November. Those skills included: offering a good deal, if change did not happen, apply pressure, and when change occurred, release of that pressure. Now, this is often easier said than done, since there are also more components involved with this. Having confidence or at times lack thereof, in myself hindered my relationship with Tasara to grow stronger at times. Horses do truly shine when they are led by confidence, and this is a trait that I will continue to strive for as I hope to continue to work with horses at SAFE and hopefully beyond. My current goal is to work on gaining confidence in myself and my ability to implement a better flow of timing to better add that release of pressure, for the horse to understand what I am asking vs. being confused, as I am sure there were moments this past weekend where Tasara was, just that, confused at what I may have been asking. I want to become a more confident leader for any horse to follow and trust. I know this will happen over time and can not be rushed. The clinic has been an eye opening, experience, Joel successfully demonstrated to me the value of being a confident leader, and the conveyance and use of my body language, and what it represents to the horse. I know I will never be perfect, but I will always strive to get better. Thank you again for this wonderful experience.

Tasara is a sweetheart! Her sensitive nature and forward energy make her an ideal horse for a rider with a light touch and calm personality. She was recently started at SAFE and is in full training. She has smooth gaits, she’s well behaved and she just loves people! At this time, she is considered a green horse and will require more miles under saddle before she’ll be suitable for a youth rider. She will make a great partner for a small adult rider because she is a very willing mare. Come see this little cutie and fall in LOVE!

Sweet little Tasara is on her way to becoming a fun riding horse! I have been working with her for some time, getting her ready to be ridden. Due to her gentle disposition, we’ve been able to let other volunteers handle her too and do some groundwork with her along the way. On Friday before the Joel Conner clinic, we asked Joel to put the first ride on her. If she did well, the goal was to have me up on her before the end of the weekend and to be able to keep her at home and work her through the green rides myself. We wanted to do this for a few reasons: her small size, her willingness to work with and how safe she has been to work around. Everything went very well and while there are a few things I need to work on with her, I was able to ride on Sunday! We decided to keep her at SHS and I will continue to train her.

During the groundwork sessions in the morning, she was worked by SAFE volunteer Jennifer, who is the wise old age of 13! I only remark about her age because it not only says a lot about this very responsible and bright young lady but also how wonderful a mare Tasara is to handle. They did splendidly together and I am very proud of both of them! Here is what Jennifer had to say about working with Tasara:

I had a lot of fun working with Tasara in the groundwork sessions with Joel. She became very responsive after she warmed up to her surroundings in the arena. She was easy going and a pleasure to work with, as well as to learn from. I could easily fix what we needed to work on and she got a hang of new skills very quickly. She has improved quite a bit from the last clinic in September! She is definitely understanding what is being asked from her. I had a lot of fun working with her and can’t wait to see how she continues to improve!

Sweet Tasara is coming along well in her training. She has been working steadily with a saddle on her back for a few weeks now and doing well. She is a very sensitive mare and we are working on helping her relax through the groundwork. There are many things we can do to help her regulate her reactions to things. Helping her get comfortable with increasing and decreasing energy is key to her success. She has a very kind nature which has allowed us to let a few volunteers assist in her groundwork training. We have started to see her confusion and anxiety decrease, and she’s become quicker to relax. The changes in her body are visible as she develops trust in her handlers.

At the last Joel Conner clinic at SAFE, we had one of our youngest volunteers take Tasara in to the morning groundwork sessions. Jennifer had spent a few days a week at SAFE during the summer and was a big help with the horses. She worked with a few horses and she and Tasara developed a very good rapport. Jennifer’s quiet nature is very reassuring to Tasara and they are a good pair. Here is a little of what Jennifer had to say about her first Horsemanship clinic and working with Tasara:

I really enjoyed being able to participate in the clinic. Joel taught Tasara and me many helpful skills that I know will benefit us both later on. Tasara was very patient when I was trying something new and was willing to work with me even when something didn’t make sense. It was hard for both of us to not be distracted by other people and their horses working around us, but we still managed to work together. She was very easy going and calm once she got used to the environment around her. She didn’t mind the horses around her and even if one was acting out she didn’t even seem to notice. I’m glad to get the chance to be around other people learning the same skills as me with their horses and I’m looking forward to Joel coming back!

Here are just a few of the photos from Jessica Farren of the current SAFE horses that competed at the SAFE Benefit Horse Show. It was a fabulous weekend of competition, and we all had a marvelous time!

Tasara joined the SAFE herd last week. She is a petite and pretty 10 year old Paso Fino mare. She was signed over to SAFE because her owner, who loved her dearly and provided the best of care, is facing a terminal illness and is now in hospice care. Her family made a genuine effort to rehome her themselves, but were unable to find a suitable home before the sale of the property where Tasara lived.

Tasara is a perfect candidate for the SAFE training program. She is reportedly green broke, but basically needs to be restarted under saddle. She has the sweetest disposition, and will always greet you with a hello nicker. Because of her size, she’ll need a petite rider. More to come once we’ve gotten to know her better.